Running surfaces stay in Scotland

MARK WOODS

Athletics will mourn the dismantling of Hampden Park as it prepares to revert to being the home of football with the passing of the Commonwealth Games.

However it will leave some inheritance behind. The two running tracks which were acquired for both the main stadium and its adjacent warm-up area at Lesser Hampden are to be retained within Scotland.

Nearby Crownpoint Stadium in Glasgow and the Grangemouth Sports Complex near Falkirk have been confirmed as the recipients of the Mondo-manufactured surfaces, thought to cost around £600,000 apiece, which will be relaid at the two venues once the breakdown from Glasgow 2014 is finalised.

The former, owned by Glasgow City Council, and the latter by Falkirk Community Trust are already extensively used as training hubs by a number of Great Britain internationalists with hopes that the upgrades can deliver on the promises of generating a legacy for athletics.

“We are delighted to have identified two sites to receive the tracks from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and will continue to work with our partners to manage this process,” Stewart Harris, sportscotland’s chief executive said. “Sportscotland is already delivering a lasting sporting legacy from the Games, through our Community Sport Hubs and facility investment, and this is another component of that plan.

“For club runners to have the opportunity to run on the track which athletes like Eilidh Child and David Rudisha competed on during the Games is fantastic and will help to inspire the next generation of champions.”

It is expected that the refit at both stadiums will be complete by next spring.